A quiet sob reached Nathaniel’s ears. Cora? Crying? The thought seemed ridiculous. This was not the woman he’d encountered a few days ago. He slid his hand along the tree trunk and took a step forward. Something stirred in his gut. The last woman he recalled crying was his mother, after his father had been shot. Nathaniel clenched his jaw.
Anger and self-loathing rushed through him every time the images of his parents’ final moments invaded his thoughts. He mentally shook his head to get rid of the memories and focused on the women by the fire. Once again, he was hiding like a coward. He’d make his presence known . . . in a minute.
Anna placed a hand on Cora’s shoulder. “You don’t have to be strong all the time, Cora. You’ve taken on such a heavy burden. It’s all right to ask for help.”
Slowly, Cora’s head lifted. She sniffled, then laughed scornfully. “Need I remind you that I’ve tried that? I can’t afford to make the same mistake I made back in Independence.”
Anna sat up straighter. “You can’t afford to be mistrustful of everyone, either, especially someone who’s clearly willing to help us.”
Cora’s body visibly tensed. “If you’re referring to that backwoodsman, you can forget it.”
Nathaniel’s ears pricked. At least she hadn’t completely dismissed him.
Anna smiled. “I’ve never seen you get so riled at a man before. Not even Ted.”
Cora scoffed. “Nathaniel Wilder is no better than any other man.”
Nathaniel gripped his rifle tighter. What reason did she have to compare him to other men she’d met? She didn’t know the first thing about him. His hunch had been correct. She’d been hurt, and hurt bad. His back and shoulder muscles tensed. The need to help her and prove that she was wrong about him increased.
Anna reached for Cora’s hand. She leaned forward and looked her friend more squarely in the eye. “Why, Cora? He seemed nice enough to me. He’s come to our aid several times already.”
Nathaniel nodded at Anna’s words. At least there was one sensible female among the bunch.
“You didn’t have to send him away the other day. He said he’d take us to Fort Hall.” She inhaled a deep breath before adding, “Sometimes, people might do nice things simply because it’s the right thing to do, not because they want something in return, or have underhanded reasons.”
Cora’s scornful laughter went straight to his heart, as if he’d been stabbed with a knife.
“Really? I haven’t met a man yet who doesn’t want something in return. We’ll get where we need to be without his help.”
“What ulterior motive do you think he might have for helping us?” Anna pressed. Nathaniel curled his toes inside his moccasins. He should march into that camp and defend himself, not let Anna Porter do it for him, but if he did, Cora’s hackles would be raised worse than they already were.
Leaving his camp to come here had been a big mistake, even if he needed to warn the women to keep their fire burning low and their voices down. He shouldn’t be privy to this conversation, but he couldn’t walk away from it, either. He was no better than a peeping tom. Learning more about Cora kept him from doing the honorable thing - walking away.
“I don’t know,” Cora stammered.
Nathaniel smirked. She didn’t have a good reason, because she was wrong about him.
“He already stole Gray once,” she said quickly. “He sees us as an easy target – four women alone in the wilderness. Just like Ted took advantage of me in Independence.”
Ted
Nathaniel’s fingers curled tighter around his rifle. He didn’t even know the man, but an intense dislike grew in him to where the muscles along his back hurt.
By the fire, Anna giggled. “If I didn’t know any better, Cora, I’d say that Mr. Wilder has gotten to you, and that you’re –”
“I’m going to bed now.” Patrick skipped into view, stopping just short of the fire. Cora raised her head to her brother, then back to her friend. The two women looked at each other in silence before Cora stood.
“I need to check on something,” she muttered, and followed the boy to the wagon.
Anna held her hands to the fire. She sat quietly for a minute, then raised her head and peered into the darkness. Nathaniel took a hasty step backwards, pressing up against the tree. Anna stood and headed directly for him. Damn.
She came to a stop a few paces away from him, out of the light of the campfire. She turned in his direction, hugging her shawl tightly to her.
“Mr. Wilder, I hope you’re hiding behind this tree for a very good reason,” she whispered. “Please don’t let me be wrong about you. I hope you have honorable intentions.”
“How did you know I was here?” he asked.
“Don’t you know it’s not polite to sneak up on people? You were so busy eavesdropping that you forgot to remain hidden.” There was a smile in her words.
“You’re a lot more trusting than Cora. Don’t tell her I’m here,” he grumbled. He’d successfully snuck up on hostile Indians more times in his life than he could count. He’d never live it down with his brothers that he couldn’t sneak up on a bunch of women without being found out.
“I consider myself a fairly good judge of character. You could have left with Cora’s rifle the other day when those Indians surrounded us. Whatever you said to them made them leave.” She paused, as if searching for the right words. “Cora has her pride, Mr. Wilder. I won’t tell her that you’re following us,” Anna reassured him. “Although I’m sure she suspects it. The truth is, I’m glad that you are here. It eases my mind to know that you’re nearby, and I thank you for it.”
Nathaniel chuckled. “Just want to make sure you women get to Fort Hall in one piece.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, silently cursing himself for having been so careless to be seen, and now he looked like a fool.
“I’d better get back to camp,” Anna said quietly. “She’ll be mad at both of us if she discovers you here and catches me talking to you. I just wanted to say thank you . . . from all of us, even if some don’t realize it.”
“Sorry I was eavesdropping,” he mumbled. “I came to tell you to keep your fire low and your voices down. I could hear you half a mile away. But I am glad I overheard her admit that she’s a bad shot.” Nathaniel grinned.
Anna inhaled loudly. “Cora’s a good woman. Her heart is in the right place. She’s been dealt an awful lot in the last few years. As the oldest, she feels responsible for taking care of her sisters and brother. In some ways, she already thinks she’s failed.”
Nathaniel stood straighter. He didn’t ask the questions that burned in his mind. What things had she failed at, and who was Ted?
“Then she should be willing to accept help,” he said instead.
“I hope she does soon, but it has to be on her terms. You’ll have to earn her trust, not demand it.”
Nathaniel stared at the faint features of Anna Porter in front of him. He couldn’t earn Cora’s trust if she chased him away at every opportunity, even before he had a chance to prove himself. “And how do I do that?”
“Anna?” Cora’s loud whisper came from the direction of the campfire.
“Thank you again for looking out for us, Mr. Wilder,” Anna said hastily. She hurried back toward the wagon. “I’m right here, Cora. I’m ready to get some sleep.”
Nathaniel stood, staring toward the woman by the fire. The flickering of the flames distorted her outline. Her light hair looked as if it was on fire in places. Fire, like what he'd seen in her eyes, and like the flame that steadily grew inside him.
He shook his head. What kind of crazy notion was that? He tore his eyes away from the woman and headed back to his own camp. With each step that took him further away from the women’s camp, determination built stronger inside him. Something was happening to him, and it was more than wanting to help a bunch of women who were lost in the wilderness. He’d do that for anyone. Somehow it made up for not helping his folks when they’d needed him.
; No. Cora had gotten under his skin but good in a different way, and images of her standing at the edge of a creek, bravely pointing a rifle at him, hadn’t left his mind.
She had drawn his attention from the moment he first set eyes on her when he’d walked into her camp the first time, but that image of her, when she’d boldly told him to drop his belt, would be etched into his mind forever. Her feistiness and tough exterior had appealed to him right away. Now that he’d seen a glimpse of her vulnerable, feminine side, the draw to her was even stronger. Maybe in the morning, something would come to him about how to earn just a smidge of Cora Miller’s trust.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Hot air blew on his face. Nathaniel woke with a start and scrambled to the side. His hand reached for the rifle that lay next to him even before his eyes flew open. He stared up at the dark muzzle of one of his horses and relaxed. Touching a hand to the animal’s nose, he pushed the large head away and sat up with a groan.
He blinked to clear the fog from his head. Sunlight streamed in thin ribbons through the forest canopy, ending in circular patterns on the ground.
“You could have woken me sooner,” Nathaniel grumbled to the horse and stood. Two, no, three restless nights were taking their toll on him.
He’d come back to his camp last night, his head full of thoughts about Cora and the things he’d overheard at her camp, and it had kept him awake well into the night. When he’d set out on his journey from Harley’s Hole to Fort Hall several weeks ago, the notion that his path would cross with a woman who completely consumed his thoughts would have been laughable.
Even more amusing was the fact that she wanted nothing to do with him. Perhaps he’d simply lived in the wilderness too long with his brothers and Harley, and it didn’t take much for a woman to catch his eye.
Nathaniel shook his head. He’d seen plenty of women on the wagon trains that passed through Fort Hall and Fort Laramie over the years. He’d never wasted a second thinking about any of them. Besides, there were three other women in Cora’s company. Anna Porter was polite and appreciated him, yet she didn’t catch his eye the way her friend did. He hadn’t seen or heard much from the two younger girls to make a judgment about them, other than the one named Josie wanted to learn how to shoot. What was it about Cora Miller that held him captivated? She hated him.
He scoffed while gathering some twigs and branches for a fire. Stopping in front of his horse, he patted the animal’s neck and looked the gelding in the eye. “It’s because she dislikes me.”
The horse stared back at him, his ears pitched forward.
“I’m just trying to set her straight about me, that’s all.” Nathaniel bent to pick up a handful of twigs for tinder. When he straightened, he made eye contact with the horse again. “There’s nothing else I want from her.” The gelding shook his head and snorted.
Nathaniel leaned forward, glaring at the gelding. “What? You think I’m interested in her for a different reason? I didn’t make the trip to Fort Hall to find a woman, and absolutely not one as disagreeable as Cora Miller.” He turned to move away from the horse, abruptly stopped and looked at the animal again, pointing a stick at him for emphasis. “A woman like that can surely make a man’s life miserable as hell.”
The gelding took a step forward, stretched his neck to sniff at the stick, then lowered his head to crop at some grasses on the ground. Clearly, this conversation was over. Nathaniel’s trusted mount didn’t believe a word of what he’d said.
What had Proud Elk told him? A woman like Cora was good for a warrior. Nathaniel ran a hand through his hair. Talk at Harley’s cabin had often turned to women, and he’d hinted that it might be time for Ethan to find himself a wife. Nathaniel’s older brother had always responded with a silent glare.
Even Nathaniel always left the table as quickly as possible whenever Harley started rambling about women and his boys needing to find someone to settle down with. Trevor had chimed in once and told Harley that they all liked living in the remote valley they’d christened Harley’s Hole. What woman would want to live like that?
Cora is just the kind of woman who is suited for that kind of life.
Nathaniel gave the horse a final pat, then stoked his fire back to life and brewed some coffee. He ate a couple of pieces of hardtack while he saddled the gelding. Hobbling his pack animal so it didn’t wander off, he set out into the forest.
Before he’d finally fallen asleep last night, he’d spent a good amount of time thinking about what he might do to get into Cora’s good graces.
Anna had told him that it had to be on Cora’s terms. She loved her siblings. Her brother wanted something else to eat besides the usual trail fare.
He patted his horse on the neck. “Let’s go stir up a deer.”
Nathaniel guided his horse in the opposite direction from where the women had spent the night. Even if they broke camp early, he’d catch up to them after his hunt. It didn’t take long to reach the creek he’d crossed the day before, where he’d seen fresh deer tracks and droppings. Leaving his horse to graze, he crouched behind a tree and waited. No more than an hour later, he hoisted a gutted doe over the gelding’s back.
“Even if she’s not pleased, her siblings will be,” he muttered with a satisfied nod. “There’s more than one way to snare a hare.” Harley’s favorite saying brought a grin to his face. In this case, the hare was a feisty woman, and if she didn’t go for his bait, perhaps her brother and sisters would.
After butchering the deer at his camp and loading his supplies on his packhorse, he set out to follow the wagon again. Perhaps he’d try and catch up with them and offer the meat before they stopped for the night. In two days, they should reach Fort Hall and it would be better if Cora had accepted his help by then. A wagon full of women was easy pickings for the sort of riff-raff that tended to congregate at the trading outpost.
Nathaniel nudged his horse into a trot. If he hurried, he could catch up with the wagon before they needed to cross the river up ahead. He’d had no problems a week ago, but a wagon might present a challenge. There was a safe place to get across where the water wasn’t deep and the current not quite as strong, but it looked like the wagon was heading in a direction that would put it further downstream.
A short while later, loud, high-pitched shouts reached him, mixed with the rushing sound of flowing water. Nathaniel urged his horse forward. When the river came into view, the reason for all the yelling became obvious.
The wagon was stuck in the middle of the river. It appeared as if the wheel that had busted before was damaged or broken again. The wagon leaned precariously to the side. All the yelling and shouting at the mules to pull wasn’t helping. Cora rode her gray gelding through the water, slapping at the mules with a lasso.
Nathaniel’s lips pressed together in a tight line. He should have insisted on checking the broken wagon wheel two days ago after the encounter with the Shoshone.
Cora’s efforts to get the mules to move proved successful. They jumped forward, making the wagon lurch violently. The boy, Patrick, who sat in the driver’s seat next to Anna, lost his balance and fell into the water. He instantly went under. His head surfaced and he frantically flailed his arms. Nathaniel cursed. He kicked his horse into a run, leaving his packhorse behind.
Anna yelled Patrick’s name. Cora must have realized what had happened. She urged her horse through the water to reach him. Instead of going around the wagon, she maneuvered her horse forward in front of the team, putting her in deeper water. The gelding stumbled, causing Cora to lurch forward and tumble over her horse’s neck. Nathaniel lost sight of her behind the mules while her horse scrambled for the riverbank. Anna and the other two girls screamed her name in panic.
Nathaniel leapt from his horse before the animal came to a stop at the edge of the water. He didn’t hesitate and plunged into the river. Once he reached the wagon, he grabbed for the boy, who struggled to keep his head above water. Anna reached down from the wagon, pulling Patrick to her w
hen Nathaniel hauled him out of the water.
“Where’s Cora?” he shouted.
“She’s on the other side of the wagon. I lost sight of her between Gray and the mules. Please, you have to find her.” Anna’s eyes were wide with fear.
Nathaniel’s pulse pounded at his temples. She could have been struck by her horse, or one of the mules when she got thrown into the river.
“Cora,” he yelled.
Nathaniel pushed through the waist-deep water, making his way around the back of the wagon. His eyes scanned the river. He caught a glimpse of yellow hair bobbing in the water further into the river where the current was much stronger. Nathaniel rushed forward and dove into the current. He used the force of the water to sweep him along, while pushing forward with long strokes.
“Cora,” he called again. She seemed unresponsive as the current carried her away. He renewed his efforts to reach her.
Her body disappeared under the water and Nathaniel surged forward. When he was finally close enough to reach her, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, bringing her head above water. A bloody gash marred the side of her temple. Wrapping one arm around her to keep her head above water, he fought the current with his legs and other arm. Her lifeless body became heavier with each stroke.
“Dammit,” he growled. Her waterlogged skirts were weighing them both down.
While he continued to kick with his legs in an effort to get them back to shore, he fumbled with her skirt underwater. She was going to be mad as hell when she found out that he’d ripped off part of her dress, but it was the only way to get her back to dry land. The strong current of the river gave him no other choice.
The instant he tore away her skirt, the burden became lighter and Nathaniel renewed his efforts to get her to the riverbank. When his feet touched the rocky bottom, he heaved himself forward, and swept her into his arms.
Cora's Pride (Wilderness Brides Book 1) Page 7
